With it being cold outside lately, I replaced our hummingbird feeders with suet feeders for now. I can’t put the suet feeders out during the summer because they melt, and that’s not pleasant. We have a thistle sock in the tree year-round and then a hook in the front and back to hang other feeders on, normally the hummingbird feeders.

I’ve discovered that the suet feeder in the back generally lasts about three days while the one out front lasts about nine. The birds up front get spooked a lot more with neighbors coming and going often, so the birds don’t spend as much time there as they do in the back. But all that means that we’re going through a lot of suet blocks right now.

I was at the store buying more suet blocks a week or so ago and commented to the cashier that the birds were going through them quickly. She replied by saying it could quickly turn into an expensive hobby.

An expensive hobby? Each suet block costs less than a dollar. With two suet feeders we are probably going through them a lot faster than if we just had one. I bought my bag of thistle seed so many years ago that I can’t remember when I actually bought it. And the hummingbird feeders take less than a cup of sugar a week, even in the summer when it goes quickly, and even with two feeders.

I tend to think of it as cheap pets. We didn’t have to purchase the pets in our backyard. We don’t have to take them to the vet. We don’t have to provide shelter for them (although that is a definite possibility). We don’t have to take them out for walks or clean up after them. And if we stop feeding them, it isn’t a case of animal cruelty and they won’t die.

In my opinion, back yard wild birds are the best pet ever. All the enjoyment without any of the responsibility! And they’re a lot of fun to watch, especially when they get suet all over their faces.

10 shared thoughts about Expensive Hobby or Cheap Pets?

We love to feed the wild birds and then everything else that comes to the feeders. At one time we had 28 bird feeders out side. When we went to buy all of our seeds and suet at Tractor Supply, they asked us if we needed the farm discount and if we had a farm card.

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